Wednesday, 25 November 2020

Using lockdown to explore your locality

 I'm lucky in that I live close to some lovely countryside, and consequently some excllenet walks. The M25 is on my doorstep, so it's not totally rural around here. But I've been walking on Epsom Common, and along the River Mole, and I've discovered a wealth of willdlife. Here are some photos of the creatures that have brightened my life over the last few months.











Wednesday, 11 December 2019

Cambodia

A Selection of photos. There wasn't a lot of wildlife, but the underwater landscapes were pretty spectacular.









Angkor Wat - the Tomb Raider temple






Bats leaving  a cave at dusk

Fruit bats

Monday, 23 September 2019

Leopards!



It's taken me twenty-six years and eleven different game parks to finally see a leopard in the wild. I've been to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, Ivory Coast, India and Sri Lanka, and every time they've eluded me. Frequently it was the jeep in front of me, or one behind that managed a sighting, which was infuriating. But this August I went to Botswana, and had the holiday of a lifetime. It's a wonderful country, and there's loads of wildlife and a small human population. I was wild camping with a group of people, which meant we had hyenas and honey badgers sniffing round the tents at night, and we could hear lions roaring and elephants trumpeting. We saw a pair of cheetahs grooming one another, and a young male lion left to babysit his three-week-old cub for the first time. He didn't really know what to do, and the cub kept yelling for mum. And I saw four different leopards, all told. It was really exciting holiday in many ways, so here are some photos.





 

Monday, 3 December 2018

Tigers!

In 2014 I went to Bandhavgarh National Park in India to see tigers, and didn't see a single one. I decided to have another go in Tadoba, and the result couldn't have been more different. I also managed to see sloth bears and dholes, the Indian wild dogs. A tremendous trip, and some very close encounters with a number of different tigers.






Thursday, 29 November 2018

Uzbekistan





This was the most amazing place, with a a wealth of really beautiful architecture. The ceilings are particularly fine, but the only way to capture them is to lay your phone down on the floor and hope you get your finger out of the way in time to take the picture!




We went to Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent. The buildings are all harmonious, and emanate sense of calm.













It's a great place to visit. The people are really nice, the food is good, and the clothes are beautifully embroidered and cheap.







Wednesday, 18 July 2018

Camera trap and pirated downloads



I had a camera trap for my birthday - this is the fox who visits our garden. I have also been made aware of various sites who offer free downloads of my Divide books without my permission. These may be trying to collect your data so that they can scam you, so beware.

Tuesday, 1 May 2018

Russia



Moscow metro
The Amber Room


















Bob and I have been visiting Russia; Moscow and St Petersburg. The metro is just as ornate as we were led to believe.
St Basil's cathedral, Red Square
A Faberge egg





Yet another chandelier...
Everything is really over the top - so much gold leaf that it actually makes you feel a bit ill!